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Herbaceous Babe is going to be a little less regular in the days to come as the author gets launched in her professional career. Keep checking back, because there's no telling when a new post will appear!

Monday, December 24, 2012

"Practically Raw" & Hot Cocoa

All week my brain has been a-whir with wondering what to eat for Christmas dinner. One can only consume so much squash, sweet potato, kale, mushroom, and lentils before the belly begins to yearn for Spring and the asparagus it brings - not to mention green beans, snap peas, cucumber, zucchini, and weather warm enough to venture into a raw-er diet.

Almost in response to my silent musings, the delivery truck pulled (or rather, slid) into the yard with a Christmas care package from my grandparents: Practically Raw by Amber Shea Crawley. As I leafed through the 240-page tome, I thought aloud, This gal gets it! The recipes and their ingredients were simple, written for real people with real lives, complete with substitution suggestions and both raw and cooked options. Informational bubbles and sidebars offer practical tidbits about nutrition, organic vs conventional produce, nut soak-time, and much more. The best part is that most raw recipes are automatically gluten- and soy- free! I've perused several raw and vegan books over the last year, and this is the best book I've seen by far. I look forward to curling up with this book and a hot cup of Crio Brü.


Crio Brü is prepared just like coffee, but it's made of antioxidant-rich cocoa beans that are naturally caffeine free. Vegans rejoice, because now there's a simple alternative to those instant hot cocoa packets! *insert victorious cackle here*

So what am I cooking for Christmas? Flaxjacks - raw, gluten-free pancakes. I'll let you know how they turn out ;)

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